Overview:
Check that the name daemon will run. Then shut it off.
Edit named.conf and named.boot.
Create zone files in the paths you entered in the named.conf file.
Start the name daemon. Check your logfiles or console output for error messages.
Do 'nslookup - localhost' on the nameserver.
One word of caution...set your TTLs kinda low the first time. On my first nameserver, I meant to set for about a week and put in an extra zero. Six months later the ISP changed the entire subnet, and I'm waiting until 2010 or so to get another query from the root servers on that name........